EAST LANSING, MICH. — No. 6 Iowa field hockey staged another comeback Sunday afternoon, scoring twice in the fourth quarter to erase a late deficit and beat Michigan State, 4-3.
The Hawkeyes improved to 11-1 overall and 3-1 in Big Ten play with the victory, while Michigan State fell to 4-7 overall and 0-4 in conference action.
The win came just two days after Iowa knocked off No. 15 Michigan in overtime behind another late-game finish.
Iowa builds early 2-0 lead
Fréderique van Cleef opened the scoring just 4:10 into the first quarter, striking unassisted for her 16th goal of the season.
Dionne van Aalsum doubled Iowa’s lead in the second quarter, scoring unassisted at 27:52 for her 13th goal of the year.
Michigan State answered just before halftime when Aiden Weinmann scored at 29:23 off an assist from Lilian Knorr, cutting Iowa’s lead to 2-1.
Spartans storm back to take lead
Michigan State carried that momentum into the second half.
Knorr tied the game at 42:33 in the third quarter, scoring off an assist from Mora Cavazza.
The Spartans then moved ahead early in the fourth when Ellie Kendall scored at 49:00 off a feed from Carmen Maudlin, giving Michigan State a 3-2 advantage.
For Iowa, it was another test of a team that has repeatedly found ways to recover from deficits this season.
Millard-Smith scores first career goal
The Hawkeyes responded quickly.
Amber Millard-Smith tied the match at 3-3 with an unassisted goal at 52:26.
The goal was the first of Millard-Smith’s Iowa career and came at a critical moment with the Hawkeyes trailing late on the road.
Just over three minutes later, Iowa struck again.
Van Aalsum delivers the winner
Van Aalsum scored her second goal of the game at 55:31 off an assist from Rachel Herbine, putting Iowa back in front, 4-3.
The goal was van Aalsum’s 14th of the season and her fifth game-winner.
Iowa protected the lead over the final minutes to secure its fifth come-from-behind victory of the season.
Hawkeyes control the shot count
Iowa finished with a 19-11 advantage in shots.
Goalkeeper Julia Claessens made four saves and improved to 4-0 in goal for the Hawkeyes.
Van Cleef’s opening strike gave her 16 goals on the season, while van Aalsum’s two-goal performance pushed her total to 14.
The victory continued a strong road swing for Iowa after Friday’s ranked win over Michigan.
No. 1 Northwestern awaits
The schedule gets even tougher next.
Iowa travels to Evanston on Friday, October 9, to face No. 1 Northwestern.
The matchup is scheduled for 3 p.m. Central time.
The Hawkeyes will enter that contest at 11-1 overall, riding back-to-back road wins and carrying one of the strongest résumés in the country into a showdown with the nation’s top-ranked team.